Johannesburg – The Sharks’ Springbok contingent is hard at work at Hollywoodbets Kings Park while awaiting the return of the team from their United Rugby Championship (URC) tour. However, given the malfunction of the line-outs overseas, it would have been tempting to get Eben Etzebeth on a plane to face Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.
This will not occur, and Eben the Angry will make his Durban debut on October 15 against the Glasgow Warriors at home.
The previous week, coach Sean Everitt revealed that his Bok players were allowed a week of vacation following the conclusion of the Rugby Championship. Since then, they have been familiarizing themselves with the Sharks’ procedures under coaches Joey Mongalo and Etienne Fynn.
Everitt indicated that they would only contemplate bringing up a Springbok in the event of a catastrophic injury issue.
The Sharks did lose a crucial lock, Gerrit Grobler, to injury after their victory against Zebre, but they stayed with Reniel Hugo and Justin Basson, their new acquisition from the Cheetahs, last week and will continue to do so against Leinster.
Etzebeth is perhaps the Sharks’ biggest signing ever — both physically and figuratively — but he is being held back for their URC home opener against Glasgow, who will learn to Fear the Fin.
The Sharks enter Saturday’s match against Dublin on the heels of victories over Zebre and the Dragons, but they could have lost both of those games despite displaying excellent performance at times.
That is just it… If the Sharks continue to play inconsistently, Leinster will not be as lenient as the Italian and Welsh teams.
Forwards coach Warren Whiteley is aware that the line-outs have been unstable and the rolling maul has not gone according to plan.
The former captain of the Springboks stated that the team’s defensive line-outs and mauls have improved over the course of the last two weeks. “We were dissatisfied with our performance in the first game, but we improved against the Dragons.
“However, it did not meet our expectations. We have emphasized this, and we are aware that Leinster possesses a formidable pack.
In the last two weeks or so, we have worked on a number of specific aspects, Whiteley noted.
This weekend offers an additional opportunity to continue making progress in that area.
The lively efforts of the young loose trio of Phepsi Buthelezi, James Venter, and Dylan Richardson have been a highlight for the forward pack.
The latter was the Man of the Match against the Dragons but his fellow loosies were breathing down his neck.
All three were strong with the ball in hand and carried it numerous times.
Whiteley expressed satisfaction with their progress.
These three men have only participated in a handful of games together. We’ve been impressed with what we’ve seen, and things will only continue to improve,” he said.